Entropy
by Rhi Marzano
Summary: A strange Ginny-revolved fic as she finds herself, her place, and romance.
1. Unanswered Questions

Entropy Part 1: Unanswered Questions  
Rhi Marzano  
PG13  
  
Just so you know, this is one oddball coming of age story. At the beginning of this, Ginny is a very, very sheltered innocent girl. But things rapidly decline from there. A huge thanks to SkySorceress (go read her wonderful Picturesque!) for wading through my pile of literary sludge. I don't own any of JK Rowling's wonderful characters but there are two particular characters that are mine and I beg that you not steal. Enjoy!

* * *

Ginny sat down at the kitchen table. She carefully placed her bowl of piping oatmeal on the table. She grasped the cool glass of water and took a small swig. "Percy," she said sleepily, "could you get me a spoon?"

Her brother looked up irritably from his copy of the Daily Prophet. "_Accio_ spoon," he said, and after the utensil had finished whipping through the air, he handed it to her.

She bit her tongue not to say something about him showing off.

"Show-off," said George cheerfully, plopping down on the other edge of the table. He leaned over and sniffed Ginny's breakfast. "Did you make any for us?"

"On the stove," she replied with her mouth full.

"Disgusting manners, Ginny," Percy reproved.

She stared into her reflection in the glass. Her hair was quite disheveled, but that wasn't what she saw first. There it was- right on her forehead, like a huge bull's-eye. A particularly nasty zit. So much for impressing Harry when he came later in the week, she thought with resignation. Not like she needed to impress him anyway. She'd always just be Ron's little sister, so what was the point? Time to move on. Maybe the pimple was a blessing in disguise.

Or maybe, she thought gloomily, it was just a sign that she was eating too much chocolate.

"Where's Mum and Dad?" Fred queried, slopping equal portions of her breakfast creation into two bowls, then adding an extra spoonful to his own bowl when George wasn't looking.

"They were invited to a business brunch in London," Percy informed them. "They should be home in the afternoon."

"Hopefully Mum won't turn into a cleaning nazi," Ron said grumpily, padding into the kitchen. His pajama pants only reached mid-calf, since he'd grown about a half of a foot just since they'd been out of Hogwarts, in contrast to Ginny, who only seemed to be able to grow a flood of acne. 

"Wouldn't bet on it," Fred sighed and morosely picked at the oatmeal.

Ginny wished Charlie was there. He would have charmed her zit right off with minimal teasing. Well, even if he did make fun of her a bit while he was doing it, he wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone. He understood her that way. There was no way she could ask Percy without risking a three-hour lecture on personal hygiene. Bill wouldn't have minded getting rid of the unsightly growth, either, but it was just her luck that both of them were working extra over the summer and wouldn't be back until sometime next week. She exhaled and finally ate the last bite of her oatmeal. 

"I'm going to go clean my room," she stated half-heartedly, since her brothers were all chatting too loud to hear her anyway. She pushed her chair in and began to stomp up the stairs. 

"Oi, what's with Ginny?" said Fred puzzledly. 

George shrugged. "Maybe she's starting her... you-know?" 

"That would explain a lot of things," Fred said thoughtfully. "Like her breakouts, the moodiness…" 

"Maybe she has PMS," suggested Ron brightly. 

"No, look!" George exclaimed, waving his spoon in the air. "Her oatmeal is finely blended! She must have been _really_ irritated." 

"Then it could only be PMDD," said Fred in mock seriousness. 

"Could we not discuss this at the breakfast table?" Percy said between clenched teeth. 

"Sure thing, Percy," chirped George. "We didn't know you were so sensitive to this kind of talk. But just so you know, Perce, Ginny's hormonal levels are particularly elevated and-" 

"I'm not listening!" he shouted, and Apparated out of the room. 

The three brothers burst into laughter. 

"If we'd only known it was that easy to get rid of him," grinned Fred. 

"First dibs on his oatmeal," said Ron, already reaching. 

* * *

Ginny tilted her head back and rested it against the wall. Her room was spotless after only a half-hour of vigorous cleaning. The window was open to let out the dust fumes, so she breathed in the fresh air almost lazily. She let her eyes flutter closed and continued the deep, steady pattern of breaths. A nap seemed awfully attractive. 

"You just got up an hour ago," she chided herself.

The truth remained that she was still tired, so she surrendered to her dreams. 

She was rudely awakened by noisy squawking. "What?" she mumbled. 

Errol, the family owl, flapped over to her. She opened the letter addressed to her in rather sloppy handwriting. 

Ginny,   


You'll never guess! It was a great decision for me to not take so long of a break this summer. I've just gotten a raise! I probably wouldn't have stayed if you hadn't suggested it, so I'm grateful. Bill says he's doubtful if he can come home at all save a weekend, so what do you say that you and I go visit him for a spell? Ask Mum and Dad. Don't bother sending Errol back to me since I'm probably already on my way.

Love, Charlie

Her heart stopped. A vacation? With Charlie? 

You won't get to see Harry, she reminded herself. But what did that matter? Harry wouldn't see her blotchy face, and she would get to hang out with two of her brothers that she hardly saw. 

Please let them let me go, she thought desperately. 

* * *

The Weasley parents arrived home at precisely noon thirty.

"How was brunch?" Ginny asked, immediately skipping towards them and giving gigantic hugs.

"It was wonderful," her mother said expansively. "Why, I haven't eaten so much in years."

"We talked about many important issues," said her father.

"But the _food_, Arthur," she said impatiently.

"Yes, dear," he conceded with a smile, "the food was good too."

Her mum cocked her head sideways and eyed her for a second. "And why are you so agreeable today?"

"Um, no reason," she said lightly, and then almost as an afterthought, she inserted, "Oh, Charlie got a raise and he wants to take me to Egypt to see Bill for the rest of the summer. That's fine, right?"

They gawked at her.

"Charlie?" her mum said faintly.

"Egypt?" said her father nervously.

"The rest of the _summer?_" her mum said shrilly.

"Please?" she begged, rushing. "I'll be super good, Charlie and Bill will take good care of me, and I'm fourteen now anyways so don't I deserve a little independence?"

Her parents gave each other a long look and then turned their eyes back on her.

"I suppose," her mum said slowly. "But you'll be extra careful."

"And you won't speak to strangers!" her father said sternly.

"Or go with strange people who say they have candy."

"I know, I know," Ginny said impatiently. "So I can go?"

"Yes," granted Mrs. Weasley, and then she promptly burst into tears. "Oh, Arthur, our little girl is growing up!"

* * *

The truth of the matter was that Charlie Weasley, although both a wonderful Quidditch player and a genius with dragons, was not very good at Apparating. Sure, he was comfortable with doing it over short distances, but not so much, say, from Romania back to the Burrow. The instant solution was to split it up into much more manageable distances. First, he Apparated to the Portkey Port in Bucharest, then informed the clerk that he wished to go to London. The clerk then instructed him to go pick up the empty butterbeer bottle in the corner, and at London he was. Finally, he finished it up by Apparating back home.

Much less nerve-racking that way, 

Charlie brushed off some intergalactic dust, straightened his robes, and knocked on the door.

"Charlie!" squealed his sister, promptly launching her arms around him. "My favorite brother in the _whole_ world!"

"Hey!" objected Fred, George, and Ron in unison.

"Why aren't you taking _us_ to see Bill?" demanded George, narrowing his eyes.

"Because you wanted me to stay home all summer and help you with your dumb inventions," retorted Charlie, dislodging Ginny from him.

"Our inventions aren't dumb," protested Fred.

"Inventions?" squawked their mom from the next room.

"Nothing, Mum," the twins said hastily.

Charlie glanced over at Ginny. "You packed?"

"Yep," she said happily.

"We'll miss you," Ron said obligingly.

"Be careful,"their parents called from the other room for the billionth time.

* * *

It took the siblings a couple of hours by air to the suitable Portkey Port.

Charlie set down his luggage and shifted his broomstick to his left hand. "Gringott's Bank- the Egypt Branch," he said pleasantly.

"How do you keep Muggles away?" Ginny wondered.

"Quite simple," the agent replied, eyes twinkling. "It's been charmed so that it appears to the muggle eye to be a restaurant reeking of cat piss and having a large pile of solid waste on the stoop. No one wants to eat at a place like that."

"Reckon night," she responded.

"Our portkey?" Charlie repeated amiably.

"Rotting banana peel by the trash can," directed the agent.

"This is so exciting," sang Ginny as she skipped towards the trash can.

"I suppose so," agreed Charlie, wrinkling his nose and bending down to examine the stench of their portkey.

* * *

It seemed like it had been forever since Ginny had last been in Africa. The bank looked different somehow, but there was no mistaking that it was the same building. She'd been assured that Bill still worked in the same office on the same floor, so she wasn't worried about finding him.

Charlie looked unsettled, she decided after directing a sidelong glance at him. "What's wrong?" she asked, hoping to clear up a few things.

"Nothing," he responded, forcing a smile. "Let's go see Bill."

They followed a large spiraling stone staircase up two flights and turned. To their left was a large window with a remarkable view of the outdoors, but the second door on the right was that to their brother's office. Charlie led the way in.

"Hey, Charlie," boomed the familiar voice. "Let me get a good look at Beatrix here."

Ginny walked in behind Charlie. "Hey, Bill, " she greeted, then curiously added, "Who's Beatrix?"

"More importantly," Bill said slyly, "_where's_ Beatrix?"

"She couldn't get the time off," Charlie said stonily. "So I went without her."

"And picked up our baby sister on the way." Bill stroked his chin. He was attempting to grow a beard, but it looked rather silly. Realizing that he was drawing attention to the ill-fated whiskers, he removed his hand and instead gave Ginny a hug. "How are you?"

"Fine. Who's Beatrix?" she asked again, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Charlie's girlfriend," Bill supplied.

"You have a girlfriend?" she said, in shock.

"You don't have to act so surprised," her brother said sourly, and stalked out of the room.

"What's up with him?"

"He's just restless," Bill grinned. "When he and Trix get into spats like this, he doesn't get any."

Ginny was clearly bewildered.

"Any what?"

"Ask Charlie," advised her brother, smothering a laugh.

"I will not," she retorted, flopping down in a chair in front of his desk. "When do you get off work?"

Bill checked his watch. "Twenty minutes, and we'll go grab something at Abner's."

"Abner's?" Charlie said eagerly, bursting back into the room.

"Nothing heals a broken heart like good cuisine," Bill grinned.

* * *

A cheese cracker.

A bottle of butterbeer.

Some sort of rice-y dish.

This was all that Ginny could make out of the menu- and that was only because there were quaint little illustrations next to them. Everything had a different name, or was something she'd never heard of before.

"Are you ready to order?" asked the waitress.

"Calamari and some port," Bill said, casting his eyes down the paper once more.

"Tame, Bill," Charlie laughed.

"Conservative," his brother corrected.

"I'll have the fried Corinthian Wabash," announced Charlie as Bill looked forlornly first at his pocketbook, and second at his watch. "What about you, Ginny?"

"The rice and some butterbeer," she said weakly, pointing at the picture for emphasis.

"Talk about tame," grinned Bill.

"Enjoy some complimentary soup while we prepare your order," said the waitress in her perky voice. She leaned over and passed them out, but lingered as she set down Charlie's bowl. "You busy tonight, sugar?"

"I'm married," Charlie said blandly.

"Where's your wife?" she said suspiciously.

"That'd be me," Bill said in mock seriousness.

With a shaky assent, the waitress backed away from the table and into the kitchen.

"You two are shameless," Ginny informed them.

"Gotta do what ya gotta do," Bill shrugged. He glanced down at his watch again.

"I think we could have done without the making me gay part," Charlie said critically.

"No, no, no," Bill assured him. "It was necessary for the performance."

Charlie made a noncommittal grunt and began to eat his soup. When that course was finished, a tournament of tic-tac-toe commenced. Ginny was named champion, what with her brothers being terribly out of practice.

Her brothers traded bawdy jokes and odd occupational stories. The food arrived not too long after... or maybe it had been a long time, but the minutes flew by as she was enveloped in their easy camaraderie.

Ginny had just opened her butterbeer and Bill was beginning to pour the port when he muttered, "Hullo, Beatrix."

Charlie's head jerked up and his fork clattered to the table. "Trix?" he said hoarsely.

From behind Ginny stepped a petite brunette. She swiftly moved to his side and bent down to kiss him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I asked and they let me have three days,"

"More like begged on her knees," Bill amended.

Charlie focused on his brother. "How did you know who she was in the first place?"

"She dropped by earlier today. I didn't know when you'd get here, so I told her to meet us at Abner's at 7:30, and-" He stopped, amused since neither Charlie nor Beatrix were paying attention to him any longer.

Ginny felt her heart catch. The way they looked at each other like they were the only oxygen in the room was astounding. _ I wish I had someone to see me like that,_ she thought ruefully, _but everyone just sees me as little Weasley._ She viciously stabbed her rice and chomped.

"Why don't you try some fried Wabash, Gin?" suggested Bill.

"But it's Charlie's," she protested.

"He's not eating it," he replied pointedly.

"True enough," she said dubiously, and hesitantly sawed off a portion. The outer layer was some sort of crispy beef, but inside was a clear gelatinous substance. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good. "What's this stuff?" she asked, waving her fork at the jelly.

"You don't want to know," he advised her.

"I do," she persisted.

Bill risked a glance at their enamored brother. "Ask Charlie," he winked.

Ginny sighed and dug into more of the Wabash.

* * *

Bill's current apartment was a posh place on the other side of town. The ceilings and doorframes dwarfed Ginny. "Where will I stay?" she asked, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Just put your stuff down next to the ficus plant for now," Bill dismissed. He fiddled with his pocket a bit and then gestured for her to follow through a pair of sliding doors to a balcony. Charlie and Beatrix weren't far behind. "Want a cigar, Char?"

"Sure." Charlie reached out and grasped the object.

"Smoking is disgusting." Ginny's eyes flashed and she stomped her feet.

"A cigar once in a while won't do much harm," Bill said gently. Charlie pulled out his wand, but Bill slapped it down. "This is a Muggle yuppie neighborhood. No magic."

His brother grumbled. "How are you going to light it then? Don't tell me you picked up some Muggle contraption." He gave him his cigar back and faced the sunset.

Ginny watched in fascination as Bill opened a tiny cage-like cupboard. The item he retrieved looked almost like a creature. He held it up to the two cigars and tugged the end of it. Fire spouted out and both glowed.

Beatrix snatched Bill's hand as he was putting the lighting device away. "Where did you get that?" she demanded.

"A client gave it to me."

"Do you know what this is?" Beatrix waved Bill's hand at Charlie in jerky motions. Charlie's eyes widened.

"By Jove," he breathed. "It's a rare Golden Pygmy Dragon!"

Bill looked embarrassed. "It is?"

"Can I see?" Ginny asked eagerly.

Beatrix carefully placed it in her hand. "He looks a bit hungry," she observed, throwing an accusing look at Bill, who put his hands up innocently.

The dragon fit nicely in her cupped hands. The belly was a deep crimson and its scales were a brilliant gold. At first it looked nervous, but she stroked its sides with her thumbs and it eased. "A boy or a girl?"

"Boy," affirmed Charlie.

"Must be nice to be reborn as a dragon after being a _lighter_," drawled Beatrix.

Bill looked sheepish.

Ginny examined the dragon. _Rebirth,_ she mused silently. _Didn't I learn that word in my Latin lessons?_

"Renato," she said with a smile. "His name is Renato."

"Why don't you keep him, Gin?" Bill suggested. "It's about time you had a pet."

"Keep him?" she repeated in wonder.

"Yep."

She squealed as the reality of the situation dawned on her. "You're my _favorite_ brother, Bill," she gushed and hugged him.

"You change that designation a bit much," Charlie complained.

Bill chuckled.

* * *

Ginny lay with her eyes to the ceiling in one of Bill's guestrooms. It was weird how when Charlie was with just her, George, Fred, and Ron earlier, he seemed wise and funny and mature, but when he was with Bill, he acted more goofy and immature- just like George or Fred or Ron. Maybe it was just that the roles of an older brother and a younger brother were slightly different. But that was the problem with Ginny. She only had one role. The youngest Weasley, the only girl child.

Renato was nestled quite comfortably on her chest.

"At least I've grown a bit there since the beginning of the summer," she admitted aloud. Well, more than a little- a lot. That made up a bit for her lack of increase in the vertical.

She smoothed out her robes. It was going to be fun hanging with Bill and Charlie for a few weeks.

Suddenly she noticed her robes were a bit damp. "Not supposed to be here for another week at least," she whispered anxiously. Oh, god, what was she going to do? 

She ran out of the room and banged on Bill's door.

He opened it, eyes bleary. "What?"

"My period's early and I don't have my special charmed robes and I can't use a spell because of your dumb no magic neighborhood ordinance," she blurted, bursting into tears. "What am I going to do?"

"Oh, god," he groaned. "I don't know anything about this. Ask Charlie."

"Ask me what?" Charlie said blankly as he and his girlfriend came out of the other guest room.

Beatrix fortunately recognized the issue. "I'll take you to the store, Ginny. Think you'll be okay until then?"

"What?" mumbled a bewildered Charlie.

"Don't ask," the other three snapped.

* * *

Will Ginny make it to the store in time? Will anyone notice Beatrix came out of Charlie's room? Will Bill stop drinking sissy wine and just admit he doesn't know something instead of deferring things to his brother? Stay tuned for part two, where the last weeks of summer and the return home bring romance for the Weasley's!


	2. Honestly Awry

Entropy Entropy Part Two: Honestly Awry  
Rhi Marzano  
PG13  
Well, I had marvelous plans for this part, but after five or six rewrites, I decided to truncate this chapter and make up for it in the next. Enjoy! 

----  


Ginny pushed the sleeves of her robes up to her shoulders, dipped her quill in a rather unremarkable ink pot, and set the nib on the parchment.

Dear Muriel,

Hihi, it's Ginny. I know I haven't written all summer, but I've been dreadfully busy. Charlie and I have been staying with Bill in Egypt. Charlie's girlfriend was here for a bit in the beginning. She's really nice- took me shopping and did my hair. It was almost like having a sister. But she had to go back to work.

A lot of times Bill works all day, but Charlie takes me to the zoo or to a Quidditch match or two. And then we've got some vicious board games going on. Oooh! And I got my first pet! He's an absolutely gorgeous Golden Pygmy Dragon, and I named him Renato. We also spend a lot of time playing with him, and Charlie showed me how to feed him, and bathe him. I'm rambling, aren't I? Truth is that I'm so glad I came down here.

I'll be home in a week- tell me all about you and that boy you met at the shore then!

Love, Gin

"Good, eh, Renato?" she said affectionately, rubbing his head as she sealed the letter with some wax. The creature grunted in ambiguous affirmation.

A light rap came at her door. "Gin?" came the muffled plea.

"Yeah?" she called back, setting Renato on the corner of the desk and standing up. When the door was opened, a mournful looking Bill was revealed.

"Most of my trousers are dirty," he said plaintively. "Could you do some laundry for me while I'm out?"

Ginny yawned. "Why not let Charlie do it?"

"Because last time my shirt ended up with conspicuous blotches on it," he said sullenly.

She sighed and took the basket from him. "Alright, fine. But only one load. I want to go swimming today. And bring home something good for dinner."

"Right, right," he said hastily, planting a small kiss on the crown of her head. "You're the best."

She rubbed the spot a bit and followed him into the kitchen. The sky outside was an innocent shade of blue now, but she knew it would storm in the afternoon. All the more reason to get the swimming done as soon as possible. She set her brother's collection of dirtied trousers down and perched on a stool. "Charlie up yet?"

"No, no. He got fairly foxed last night," Bill said thoughtfully. "Reckon he'll have a bugger of a headache this morn."

"Ah," she said for no particular reason, and fetched some utensils. "Breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Bill announced as he scraped a few off onto her plate. She made a face.

"Pancakes are so blah," she told him, but proceeded to eat them after pouring an inordinate amount of sugar on them. 

"Normal people use syrup, you know," he commented.

She shot him a look. "Don't you have to be at work or something?"

"Right," he grinned, heading towards the door. Ginny picked up the umbrella by the kitchen counter and launched it at him. He winced as it struck him on the chest.

"You'll need it," she said with her mouth full.

----  


Ginny surveyed the beach. The sand looked reasonably clean, as did the ocean, and it wasn't mobbed with people. There was enough floating around to make it comfortable, but not too many to pierce her eardrums.

Of course, that was entirely her opinion.

"Brain… hurts," Charlie groaned.

"We can put the stuff down here, Char," she said firmly.

He sighed and complied. "I can't believe you dragged me out here."

She began to strip down to her bathingsuit. "Not my fault that you got so smashed."

"Not so loud," he begged, collapsing onto the sand. He rested his head on the picnic basket.

"Got your anti-sun charm on?" she asked as she tucked her own behind her ear.

He grunted and nodded. Everyone know that only thing worse than a hungover Weasley was a sunburnt, hungover Weasley. Renato fluttered from his perch on Ginny's knapsack onto Charlie's belly. "I think the two of us are going to take a siesta here," he said. "Sleep off this little condition."

She gave him a disapproving look but cavorted off into the ocean.

Ginny's first thought was that the sea was majestic and wonderful. She admired the glitter of the sun on the distant waters, and wistfully observed playful children. She relished the gentle lapping of the waves over her as she stroked through.

After about a half hour, she had concluded that the sand felt squishy and disgusting, and the salt was burning her throat. She had brushed up against a slimy creature, those children had the nerve to splash her, and she was almost caught by the undertow.

By the time an hour had passed, she was ready to come out.

She brushed off her legs and slipped on a pair of sandals. Sand still sprinkled her body, leaving her feeling itchy. Worst off, she was hungry, and afraid to touch the food with her soiled hands.

_Ah hah,_ she thought, spotting a towel by Charlie, _problem solved_. She tugged it from underneath the basket, wiped her hands, and removed an apple.

She was just about to chomp when she noticed something missing.

"Where's Renato?"

"Hm?" Charlie asked, opening his eyes.

"Renato. Where is he?"

He waved his arms vaguely to the right. "Right here, I just-" He stopped and frowned. "Well, that's funny."

"Charlie!" she yelped, stomping on the sand. It made a little dust cloud, which Charlie unfortunately inhaled and then caused him to sneeze.

"He couldn't have gone too far," he assured her. "Go check by the bathrooms or the concession stands. The boy's a sucker for chocolate frogs."

She felt absolutely awful. Her first pet, and she lost it within months. She fought the urge to burst into tears and ran up to the nearest lifeguard. "Hi," she said as calmly as humanly possible, "I'm missing a Pygmy Dragon. Has one been turned in?"

The studly specimen looked puzzled but then nodded. "Yeah, one was just reported, but another fellow asked for it. Aren't those pretty rare?"

"Extremely," she said, her voice faltering. Someone had already tried to claim him? "Where can I go see it?"

"Right up past the bathrooms is the guest service desk," he directed.

She thanked him and jogged to the area.

"Hi," she said again, "Has a Pygmy Dragon been turned in today?"

"Yup," said the girl behind the counter. She had a large ring through her nose, which made Ginny wonder how she blew her nose without tearing the tissue and getting the discharge all over her hands. "Strangest thing. Never seen one in my life, and two get turned in on the same day." The girl shook her head in dismay and Ginny's heart quickened.

The girl leaned down, and picked up a case. "I put the bugger in here. Standard case for any pets. Might want to open it on the ground in case they get feisty."

She nodded dumfoundedly, her mind swimming with gratitude. She grasped the case and set it down on the nearby cement.

She opened the latch on the case, and a stunning Pygmi Dragon came out.

Stunningly crimson.

"This," she whispered, "is not my dragon."

"I believe," rumbled another voice from behind. "that it would be mine."

She twisted around. The other was also crouched on the ground, and they began to rise together. Ginny's eyes travelled up his body. His legs were entirely too hairy, his chest too muscley, his chin too angly...

And his eyes too focused on her bosom.

"Malfoy?" she said in disbelief.

"Weasley?" he said in equal surprise.

Her face flushed. She had actually been staring at Draco Malfoy's... oh, dear. What would her brothers think? What would _Harry_ think? "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I _was_ searching for my Celia, here, but you seem to have found her," Draco said in a fairly snobbish tone. He outstretched his hands. "Perhaps you could deliver?"

"Only if you give me back mine," she countered.

"A trade, then," he suggested. He produced a case not unlike the one at her feet, and pulled Renato from it.

The actual exchange of Celia for Renato was somewhat blurred. All she knew was that moments later, she was hugging her beloved pet and weeping and raining promises. "I'll never leave you again," she said fervently.

Draco watched the spectacle in silence, then cleared his throat. "Greta, is it?"

She looked up sharply at the sound of his voice. "Is what?"

"Your name."

"Ginny," she ground out.

"Ginny," he said, clearly nonplussed. "Well then. Don't I deserve some sort of a boon for returning your creature?"

"Of course." Ginny narrowed her eyebrows. "I gave you yours back. Remember?"

Draco took a step closer to her. "Well, yes, but monetary or other forms of compensation would be appreciated."

"You want me to _pay_ you?" she said in outrage. "For simply being an honest person?"

"It's quite out of character for me," he said blandly. "So, naturally, I'd appreciate some sort of reward. If not money, then, we can arrange something."

"You," she flared, jabbing a finger into that overly-toned chest, "are an ass. Do you hear me? An arrogant, idiotic, absolute **ass**! I have never met someone as asseous as-"

"Ginny?" he interrupted.

"You're ruining my momentum," she accused him, eyes flashing. "You can't even let me have my own little speech! It's all got to be about you! And I won't stand for it, not one-"

His mouth crushed hers and the rest of her sentence was lost. Briefly she struggled, and then... well, then she couldn't think anymore.

It began to rain.

Ginny's consciousness reawakened to find her entangled in his arms.

How long had they stood like that?

How had her fingers gotten in his hair?

Good jebus, was she kissing him back?

She pushed him away and let herself quiver into a puddle of shock. "My first kiss," she said in horror, "was to an asshole."

The rain flitted around them until his silky voice split the air. "Maybe so," he smirked, "but wasn't it good?"

----  


Bill and Charlie lounged on the davenport, with a glass of port and a can of Heineken, respectively. "She still crying?" Bill inquired.

Charlie leaned back and put his ear to the living room wall. "Yup," he confirmed.

Mournfully Bill stared into the glass. "I don't think Mr. Speckled Hand is going to cheer her up this time."

Both had taken a few more drinks before Charlie spoke up.

"Mr. Speckled Hand used to scare the pee out of her anyways."

Bill frowned. "Are you certain?"

"She would only pretend to laugh so he'd go away."

"I think you're funning," he scowled. "Mr. Speckled Hand was a light-spirited-"

"Grotesquely splotched area of flesh," Charlie finished.

He harrumphed and sipped his wine.

"I think this is another one of those girl things." Charlie split open a new can and discarded the old onto the floor.

"Well, we both did a stint in drama for a bit," Bill said speculatively. "You pretend to be Mom, I'll pretend to be.. uh.. someone, and we'll see if we can get this worked out."

"You know, she'll work it out eventually," Charlie said, wrinkling his nose as they walked to the guest room. "Why are you so eager to stimulate the process?"

"Because," Bill sighed, "she hasn't finished my laundry."

Charlie stifled his laughter and opened the door.

Their little sister was spread out of the bed, the sheets all bunched up. The rest of the room was immaculate. "What do you want?" Ginny said, her tear-streaked face lifting from her pillow.

"Hi, Ginny-bumpkins," Charlie greeted in a high-pitched voice. "Tell me what's the matter."

"What the schazbot is he doing?" she demanded of Bill.

"He's pretending to be Mom, duh," Bill said, as if it was self-explanatory.

"Mom," she said pointedly, "does not drink beer."

"Well, she does now," Charlie said irritably, then changed into the absurd falsetto again. "Ginny-bumpkins, I just can't bear to see you in pain. Talk to us."

"Mom does not call me Ginny-bumpkins," she informed him.

"Hey! Who's Mom here? You or me?" he retorted. "If you don't like my portrayal, then you'll have to do better yourself."

"Fine," she snapped, getting off the bed. She was about to do her best impression, oddly contorting her face, when she saw the mirror. 

Then she began to laugh. "I'm being awfully silly, aren't I?"

"Immensely," Bill agreed.

"I'm not going to get all worked up over this," she declared. "So what if Draco Malfoy kissed me? I'm going to completely forget about the entire ordeal."

"Malfoy?" Charlie said in a strangled tone.

"Kissed you?" Bill said, his nausea apparent.

"I told you, I'm going to forget all about it," she reassured them.

The brothers exchanged a stony glance.

"You," Bill said in a clipped fashion, "are going home early."

"Why?" she said in astonishment.

"When strange boys start kissing you," Charlie said sagely, "it is time to get 'the talk' from Mom."

----  


Faked you out, didn't I? Next chapter- the *real* return home, more complications ensue, and we bid the older brothers goodbye. But never fear! I get to write Fred and George again! Until next time, always wear your seatbelt. 


	3. Abnormal Reality

Entropy Part Three: Abnormal Reality  
Rhi Marzano  
PG13  
Heh. heh... The next part will be out in 2 weeks, or I promise that you may all spam me... Anyhow, big thankies to SkySorceress once more (Noo! Picturesque can't be done already!!) for confirming that my original version of this part, pardoning my French, was exactly as shitty as I thought it was. But this, this I'm proud of. Enjoy! 

The Burrow looked plainer than she'd remembered. Familiar, yet deadened. The sparkles she'd once imagined were gone.

Was growing up always like this?

She eased the door open and a note lay on the table. She picked it up and scanned it.

Ron, Harry-

Thought we'd let you sleep in. Took Fred and George shopping. Won't be gone too long. 

Love Mom and Dad

"Sleep," she told Renato, "sounds good."

She pulled herself up the stairs, tugging on the banister. The hallway was decorated a wee different, leaving her with an unsettling feeling as she escaped into her room.

Even her room looked odd.

Ginny sighed and flopped onto the bed.

"Mmmph-ouch!"

She shrieked and pushed the foreign object to the floor. "Out! Out! Out!"

A bewildered Harry Potter stared up at her.

"You aren't supposed to be back for a few days yet."

"What are you doing here?" she sputtered. 

"Erm, well," he blinked, "since you were going to be away, your mum decided I could sleep in your bed. Have been since you left."

"Oh," she said, feeling slightly foolish. "Well, get out anyway. It's my bed and I want to sleep."

"Ginny!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, suddenly materializing in the doorway. "That's no way to treat a guest!"

"'Sok, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said with a reassuring smile. "I mean, it is her room and all, and she didn't know-"

"I am very disappointed in you," she said, clucking her tongue.

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I think I'll just.. um... walk down the hallway for a second." Harry exited hastily.

"Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley called, spinning around in the doorway. "Arthur, did you buy me those plantains?"

"Yes, Molly, they're in the kitchen."

"Oh, famous," she said, and giddily whished out of the room and down the stairs.

"Mum's certainly acting weird," Ginny murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"Hoi hoi, Gin," said a voice from nowhere.

"George?" she said bemusedly, looking around. Finally, she spotted her brother, hanging upside down outside the window.

"McGehee," he corrected. "I've decided to forsake wizardry and become a repairman."

"And why the change of name?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"McGehee sounds so much more romantic, don't you think?" he said impishly, then looked at his watch. "Well, the primer's done. Gotta return to my work."

He flipped out of view and she shook her head in dismay. It was possible that the house had grown even stranger since her departure.

"Shit-kickers," Fred said with great interest as he passed by in the hallway.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said irritably, clomping out to follow him.

"Your shoes," he explained, shrugging. "They're called shit-kickers."

She looked injured and stared down at her boots. "I don't care what they're called. Bill bought them for me and I like them."

"I'm just saying that they're called shit-kickers, is all-"

"I don't care what shit-kicking similar shoes have done in the past, these are going to start some ass-kicking if you don't stop," she flared.

"Sheesh," he said, putting up his hands in surrender. "I was just making an observation."

-----------------------------------------

Things had calmed down after lunch, so Ginny went into her bedroom and Mrs. Weasley followed, explicitly forbidding anyone from entering.

"Sit down, dear," she said, the warmth of her mother's voice being somewhat contradicted as she slammed the door.

Ginny obeyed. Something told her this was not going to be fun.

"Oh, dearie me," she sighed, patting her hair in a fluster. "I've never had to give the talk to a daughter before." She pursed her lips, then said hesitantly, "When a man and a woman really love each other-" She coughed nervously. "Er, and, um... boys and girls are different..."

Ginny waited expectantly. Of course she knew what sex was, she had six brothers. Perhaps this would be more fun than she thought...

"Hold on," Molly said, whipping a plantain out of her pocket. She peeled it and waved it in front of her. "A beautiful piece of fruit, eh?"

"I guess," she remarked dubiously.

"Anyone would want it," Molly began.

"You mean any girl?"

Molly cocked her head. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, unless they were flaming," Ginny said after a second. "It looks like a wang, Mum."

Her mother's cheeks flamed. "It most certainly does not! And we do **not** use such vulgar language in this house!"

Ginny, however, vividly remembered Fred and George's "My Wang's Bigger Than Your Wang" song, so she mentally begged to differ.

"Maybe this isn't such a good example," Molly sighed. "I think I need to sit down."

A knock came at the door. "Mother? I brought you some tea?"

"Go away, Mum said you guys couldn't come in," Ginny snapped, even as their mother said, "Oh, that sounds _lovely_, Percy."

Ginny scowled.

"Is it raining out?" queried Percy with a frown.

"No," Ginny said blandly, "McGehee's throwing water off the roof."

"Huh," he said. "It really looks like it's raining out in the garden."

"Atmospheric disturbance," she said sarcastically.

"I'm not feeling very well, Percy," Molly said wearily. "I need to take a wee nap back in my room. Do you suppose you could give Ginny the rest of the talk?"

Percy nodded briskly, handed her the tea, and ushered her out of the room.

As soon as the elder was out of earshot, Percy was all about business. "I'm sure you know that sex makes babies, so I suggest you control those urges. You are not ready for a baby, and that is that." He narrowed his eyes. "And don't talk to me about protection. No spell works one hundred percent of the time."

Ginny lifted her head and began to examine the ceiling. Were the bumps going in or going out? Was it spiky or merely indented? Closing her left eye, it was going in, but closing her right, it was out. She experimented more with the phenomenon and let Percy's babbling wash over her.

"-and Charlie is not a good role model, either! Just because they use Muggle protection in addition to spells does not mean that they're safe! You just watch! One day, Beatrix will end up pregnant, and who'll be running to the responsible brother for a loan? Yes, indeed, you heed my words- or you'll be sorry. And _another_ thing-"

"Percy," she interrupted, "Shut up."

"Ginny!" he exclaimed in outrage. His eyebrows shot up and did a very Percy-like wiggle. "That is completely inappropriate!"

"I think," she said, tapping her nose, "you're just bitter that you and Penelope never reached the stage that Charlie and Trix are at."

"You mean that perpetual state of sin?" he demanded, huffing his cheeks. An ominous wiggle of his eyebrows accompanied the motion. "I refuse to believe that you find me on the same level of that lazy, supremely-"

"Content brother," she cut in. "Give it up, Perce. If Penny wanted it, you'd give in like the wind blowing over a reed."

Her brother's skin matched his hair for a moment. Obviously ordering was not working, so he switched to pleading. "Come now, Gin, I'm just saying. Don't get involved with guys like that too soon. No matter how careful you think you are, there's always the off-chance that you said one word wrong in the spell, or that your charm isn't made to last. I mean, look at Mom."

"Look at Mom, what?" she said warily. "She wanted kids, she got them."

"Well, certainly not now," he said reasonably. "I mean, here she is, approaching the top of the proverbial hill, and due in January."

Ginny froze. "Due? What?"

"Mum's pregnant, Ginny. Surely you knew that," said he, confused.

"She can't be pregnant- she's _old_!" Ginny shoved an inoffensive book off of her desk.

"Still of childbearing age," Percy said helpfully. "It's not terribly uncommon these days. In fact, more and more women are having children in their forties. Statistics from the Ministry show-"

"Shut _up_, Percy!" she snapped.

"You know," he said, sniffing. "You're not very nice anymore. I don't have to put up with this abuse."

"Then leave," she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

He complied quickly.

-----------------------------------------

"I think I'm supposed to be happy," she told Hermione. Not like she was best friends with Hermione. It was just that no one else was listening. Harry, Fred, and George (who had since given up the repair business and the name after Fred had invented something particularly wicked) were in the corner of the train discussing Quidditch. Supposedly Ron was too, but he was focused on Hermione, and in turn, she was doing her best not to blush down to her roots.

"Don't force yourself," advised Hermione. "It'll come in time. You're just experiencing some minor filial displacement anxiety."

Which reminded her _why_ she wasn't best friends with Hermione. Ginny exhaled briefly and instead turned her thoughts to the countryside. The past few days had been unbearably hot, and the trend was expected to continue throughout the week. As a result, she was wearing a functional mixture of Muggle clothes and a half robe.

"Are you getting new robes this year, Ginny?" inquired Hermione, unconsciously brushing the purchase her parents had made with their hard-earned teeth-drilling money.

"Nah," she replied, leaving it at that. There wouldn't be a whole lot of extra money floating around now that a new Weasley was going to join the clan. But it was hardly the baby's fault that she had to wear last year's robes.

"I forget myself," she said apologetically. "You got a new pet; it stands to reason that you wouldn't get the rest of your supplies renewed."

"I need to feed Renato," Ginny responded with a smile, which was going to be as close to an acceptance as she was going to get. "Might as well change into my robes, too. Be back in a few."

Ron looked vaguely annoyed at Ginny as she exited the car, probably because she was breaking his line of vision.

The bathroom was pristine. Ginny took great pleasure in soiling the counter by placing Renato on it. She fished out a small meal and let him work on it as she opened her duffel. Wadded up in the back were her dress robes, and she set about changing. She squirmed into the robe. It was a bit tighter than it had been last year, but that was to be expected.

She shoved her former clothes into the duffel, returned Renato to his position on her shoulder, and exited.

The first one to comment was Fred.

"You're practically falling out of your robes, Gin," he said critically. "Want to borrow some of Ron's?"

"They'd be too big for her, you git," George said, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, George," he grinned. "That's the point."

"They'd be too long," George amended. "She's still short, ya know. What do you think, Ron?"

"Practically a git, George, yeah," Ron said distractedly, repeating random pieces of conversation.

"I think her robes are fine," Harry said stoutly.

The twins sharply turned their heads towards him. "Are you looking at our sister, Potter?"

"Well, no," Harry said quickly. "I'm just saying that-"

"You want to take this outside?" Fred said dangerously.

"We're on a train, for pete's sake," Harry said in exasperation.

George nodded with his arms crossed. "Exactly."

"Will you guys stop being babies?" Ginny demanded. "My robes are just fine."

The twins sulked, Harry looked relieved, and Ron remained in his dreamy reverie.

-----------------------------------------

The sun in the sky and azure blazing about it signaled an auspicious beginning to the school year.

"Muriel!" Ginny cried out, glomping onto her friend upon eye contact.

Muriel Dreisbach, a Ravenclaw, burst into giggles and hugged her back. "How are you doing?"

"Good, good. So, how is Devon?" asked Ginny in her best gossiping voice.

"Devon?" Muriel said, confused, then the light bulb appeared over her head. "Oh, _Devon_. The boy from the shore. Well," she said dramatically, "we frenched and he left for boarding school."

"That's quite depressing," Ginny said, making a face.

"Well, it would be, if not for Robert," Muriel said slyly.

Ginny's ears instantly perked up and Muriel spit out all of the details on their way into Hogwarts.

The morning ceremonies went by fast, and before she knew it, Ginny was sitting next to her friend for lunch.

"Meet any cute boys in Egypt?" Muriel asked with her mouth full.

"Well, not-" Ginny stopped and blushed as she recalled her bizarre and humiliating encounter with Draco Malfoy at the beach. She cleared her throat. "No, not really."

"A shame," she proclaimed, surveying her. "You look quite different this term." She waved her fork in the general direction of Ginny's chest. "Is that padding?"

"Nope," Ginny replied.

"Lucky," Muriel said wistfully. "I'm as flat as a board."

"It is kind of nice," she admitted.

Someone made a guttural noise behind them.

Ginny turned her head. Dean Thomas was standing there, all 6 feet plus of him looking embarrassed.

"Hi, Ginny," he said, smiling nervously.

"Hi, Dean," she said warmly. He'd always been nice to her. Although this was unusual- usually he wasn't without Seamus. She looked around for him but with no avail.

Dean looked extremely awkward fidgeting with the clasp on his robes. "I was just wondering- I mean, if you haven't- well, I guess I'm trying to say that if you- uh, would you like to share a butterbeer float or something with me at Hogsmeade's?"

-----------------------------------------

"Ron," Harry said slowly, "I think Dean is flirting with your sister."

"Dean's a good guy," Hermione spoke up.

Any ill wishes Ron might have wished instantly disappeared. "That's great," he said.

"You aren't worried?" Harry said cautiously.

"Dean wouldn't do anything bad," Hermione said loyally.

"I can always beat him up if he does," Ron shrugged.

Harry stared at his friends. _God, he's whipped._ "Aren't you even going to get indignant?"

"Nope," Ron said happily. Hermione was giving him the 'you're my hero look' again. Of course he was happy. Harry stabbed his potatoes.

"He's almost skipping back to the table," Harry said in disgust. "She must have said something favorable." He waited for a reply.

They weren't listening to him. Again.

"Ron," Hermione chided, removing his arm from around her shoulder. "I have to eat."

"I'll feed you," Ron offered eagerly.

Hermione blushed. "Ron," she said, bringing her voice to a whisper, "not here."

Harry's eyes drifted over to Ginny again.

And his jaw proceeded to drop.

-----------------------------------------

"That was so cool," Muriel giggled. "Dean is so dreamy."

"Dean?" Ginny said dubiously. "I suppose he's kind of cute." Not like she really thought of him that way.

"Yo, Weasley," spoke the silky voice she had dreaded.

She swiveled slowly. "Malfoy," she acknowledged bitterly.

He looked even better than he had in Egypt. Tanned and hair so blonde it was white. Ginny tried to block out images of his bare chest and snipped, "What do you want?"

"More action?" he suggested with a lecherous grin.

"I need to talk to you," she said between clenched teeth. "Privately."

He raised his eyebrows in a manner than was actually sexy, not ridiculous like Percy. Of course, if she actually found something her brother did sexy, that would be sick and twisted.

They stepped away from the table for a second, just so the people surrounding wouldn't be able to hear their every word.

"Why," she asked quietly, "did you kiss me?"

"It's not that complicated," Draco shrugged. "I had the quintessential male dream in front of me- young, redhead, freckles, whatnot, and I could think of much better things for your lips to be doing than yelling at me."

"You never tried to kiss me last year."

"Last year, you didn't have boobs." And to punctuate this, he poked the newfound growth.

-----------------------------------------

Harry leaped up in outrage. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Ron asked, intent on watching Hermione chew her peas.

"Malfoy just fondled your sister!"

"Huh," said his oblivious friend.

The moment Ginny's hand cracked against Malfoy's face, Harry was across the room, nailing the Slytherin's jaw with a hefty left hook.

"Don't touch her," he seethed.

"Want to fight, Potter?" snarled Malfoy, grabbing his collar and rearing back for a punch.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" chanted the entire lunchroom.

Everyone was staring at them, and she was distinctly uncomfortable with the murderous glances the twins were throwing in their direction. She was never going to live this down.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley," snapped Snape. "To Dumbledore. Now."

-----------------------------------------

Wahahah! Next time- Dumbledore, a bit more snogging, and Weasleys galore. Can't you just wait? ;) 


	4. Barely Betrayal

Entropy Part 4: Barely Betrayal  
Rhi Marzano  
PG13

Sorry this is late again, but whatever. Eeenjoy

-------------------------------

The formidable figure steepled his fingers. "And what are we in for today, eh?"

"Brawling, sir," Ginny spoke up, since Harry and Draco were too busy sending each other the stare of Death to actually make intelligent sounds.

"Brawling?" Dumbledore repeated with questioning eyes. "Over what?"

"He," Harry said heatedly, jabbing a finger at Draco, "was touching her- her..."

"Bubbies?" Draco suggested.

"And why were you doing such a thing, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Visual aide," he said promptly. "Of course, I thought Weasley slapping me was retribution enough, but Potter had to haul off on his white horse and punch me. Then I, _I_, the falsely accused, didn't even get to beat the living snot out of him."

"You were groping her, for Pung's sake!" Harry flashed.

"Potter's just jealous," Draco said loftily. "He wants to touch her bubbies, too."

"He does not," Ginny snapped. "You're the only one going around publicly assaulting girls in this room."

"I'm the only one with the guts to follow my impulses."

"We were refer to them as base instincts, Mr. Malfoy, and you ought to restrain them from here on," Dumbledore said primly. "Twenty points from both your houses."

The three goggled at him.

"No detention?" Harry said in disbelief.

"No detention," he confirmed. "Go to class before I change my mind."

-------------------------------

The thoughts floating first and foremost in her mind as she walked to the classrooms were about the boy walking with her. He was taller than her now, but only by a few inches. He needed a hair cut badly and possibly some hair gel.

The thoughts directly behind those of Harry were large bursts of prostaglandins.

Headache.

Ugh.

"Thank you," she spoke up.

Harry didn't even break stride. "You're welcome."

Huh. Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Just a question for you."

"Sure."

"What possessed you?"

"You're my best friend's sister. Duh."

Duh? Narrowing her eyes, she let the fire in them smolder. "So you'd beat up Malfoy if he pinched George's butt?"

"'Course not," replied the baffled boy. "George can take care of himself."

"And I can't?"

He stopped as if the social pitfall had been physical. "I'm not.. just that-"

"You think I'm a wuss?" she said dangerously.

"It was a chivalry thing," he said lamely. Hope sparked in his eyes. "You know? Defending your honor, all that?"

Ginny shoved him against the wall. "I am **not** a weak little female!"

"Er-"

She yanked him by the collar of his robe down to eye level and kissed him. Hard.

"There," she said in disgust. "Go beat _yourself_ up."

"Ginny," he called helplessly as she stalked down the hall. He leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. "Shit," he sighed, shaking his head.

-------------------------------

The Gryffindor common room reeked of awkwardness. Or maybe it was all in her head.

It didn't help that Fred and George were mysteriously absent.

Colin plopped down beside Ginny. "Remember that one time when I ate an entire newt?"

"Shut up, Colin," she said wearily.

"And then I threw it up all over Seamus?"

"Shut up, Colin."

"And he started spouting Irish curses at me?"

"Shut up, Colin!" she snapped louder.

"I didn't do anything," Colin said injuredly. "Sometimes you hurt my feelings, and-"

"Colin," she interrupted brightly, "Harry was just saying today how he'd love to have a picture of his Firebolt."

"Oh, really?" Colin's eyes lit up. "Too cool. I've got to talk to him."

Satisfied, Ginny leaned back in her chair. _Serves him right,_ she thought smugly.

She grimaced.

Headache.

Briefly she considered seeking medical treatment, but bed sounded a more reasonable option.

She rose, bade goodnight to her brothers and Hermione, and tried not to laugh as Colin glomped onto Harry.

That right there, she decided, saved an otherwise miserable day.

-------------------------------

With every step up the stairs, her head throbbed. _My toes are ugly,_ she thought irrationally. _The same ugly toes as every other Weasley. Except they probably look attractive on the boys. But me? Absolutely dumpy._ She tugged down her robes, raced up another few steps, and rested at the platform.

She sighed in relief. Quiet- a modern marvel. Just a small break here, then she could take the next flight.

"That was cruel," accused a voice, effectively compromising her tranquility.

"You deserved it," she replied sourly. _Male chauvinist pig._

"I very much doubt that."

She turned and fixed her gaze on him. "Have you come to apologize, then?"

Harry uncomfortably fidgeted. "If I knew what for, perhaps."

"For not having the decency to regard me as a person," she scowled.

"I think you're overreacting," he began, moving up to join her on the platform.

"Overreacting?" she screeched. "I've had a crush on you since first year, you still delegate me in the same category as Ron's damn owl, and _I'm_ overreacting?"

"No matter how fond of Pig I may be," he said patiently, "I do not make a habit of battling people who pluck his feathers."

Ginny blinked, then a smile slowly formed. "That," she purred, "is exactly the apology I was looking for."

He was taken aback. "I didn't even say I was sorry."

"That's okay." Ginny patted the ground next to her. "Sit down."

Dubiously, he complied. "Er... about earlier?" He looked totally perplexed.

Ginny drew in a measured breath and searched for the right words. "Earlier... Well, I was a) trying to prove a point and b) trying to piss you off. But I think I only succeeded in confusing you."

"Bingo," he said, staring intensely at his boots. "I _am_ confused. I wasn't expecting that at all. I guess it's because you're practically my little sister."

"I'm not your little sister, Harry," she said with more calm than she felt. "Which was another purpose of earlier activities. But I'm not sitting her begging. If you'd prefer me not to kiss you, Dean Thomas would happily take your place." She let that sink in.

"You wouldn't, really. You're just trying to spite me," he said with a lopsided grin. "Which is more than you would have done a year ago. May I say your newly developed spine is quite fetching?"

"I thank you for the compliment," she said sweetly, "but I doubt it's my spine that's been giving you perception issues."

Briefly he choked and laughter bubbled up behind it. "I don't know," he said, still laughing, "I've always been a sucker for strong vertebrae."

"I'll be sure to sustain them by drinking plenty of milk," she replied with mock solemnity.

Harry grinned again. "My aunt was a chiropractor."

"No, she wasn't," Ginny said, giving him a weird look.

"Well, not really," he conceded. "But 'chiropractor' is so fun to say."

She laughed and ruffled his hair. "Crackpot."

Hesitation flickered around his face. A few moments passed in silence, then his lips brushed over hers.

The kiss was markedly different than her previous experiences. Malfoy's had been frantic and she had felt possessed. The one earlier in the day had been born of anger on her part. This one, though, was everything her first kiss _should_ have been- innocence, peaches and cream, and overloaded saccharine.

It went downhill from there.

_I am depraved,_ she decided with delight.

Their arms with fairly entangled around each other when Ron and Hermione came along.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said cheerfully. He opened his mouth to continue, but it clamped shut as he caught sight of his sister. "Hello, Ginny," he said with a growl.

"Well, hullo Ron, Hermione," Ginny piped up. She made no move away from Harry. 

"Hullo, yourself," Ron snapped. "What the hell are you doing?"

"None of your business?" she suggested.

"God, Harry," he spat, already shifting his focus. "You're supposed to be my best friend!"

Harry threw a "help-me" look at Hermione, but her face was just as incensed. "Listen, Ron-"

"Listen what? You're taking advantage of my baby sister!"

"You weren't so concerned when Dean was drooling down her shirt earlier," Harry said darkly.

"Dean's tongue wasn't in her mouth, now was it?" Ron shot back. "Of course guys are going to look at her- I can't do anything about that. But I will not deal with my _best friend_ engaging in tonsil hockey with her!"

"Tonsil hockey?" said George's voice out of nowhere.

"We're game," said Fred's. "Who's playing?"

"Harry and Ginny," Hermione informed them with distaste.

"You're gay," Fred said to his twin.

"You're incestuous," George said pointedly.

"Where have you been?" demanded Ginny.

"Storming through a party like our name was El Niño," Fred said grandly.

"Demonstrating a new product," George translated. "We stole the show."

"What's wrong with your hair?" Harry inquired.

There was definitely something afoot. Usually the twins' hair was similar in cut and style, but not today. George's hair was furiously curly. So curly, in fact, it bordered on being an afro. Fred's hair closely resembled a porcupine, spiking up in every direction.

"All part of our new invention. Today's hairstyles are high maintenance. Our new pill will automatically reset your hair in a certain configuration," George explained. He pointed to his curls. "This is the PopStar variety."

"And this is called PunkStar," Fred said with satisfaction.

"How come you still have your hair like that, then?" Ginny asked.

"we haven't figured out how to make it normal yet," Fred said sheepishly.

"But it's a marvelous invention," George pressed on. "Why, just imagine- you two could fool around in the linen closet, pop a pill, and not have mussed hair!"

"You two are supporting this travesty?" Ron scoffed.

"Harry's a good guy," Fred shrugged.

"If he screws up, we just accidentally thwap him on the Quidditch field," George added.

The words were a reminiscent of Ron's dismissal of Dean's attentions. 

"You're all idiots," Ginny declared. "I'm going to bed." She stomped up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. She mutter some choice words while scavenging for pajamas.

And then she realized her headache had gone away.

-------------------------------

She spent twenty minutes burrowed under the covers. She tried all the usual things- counting sheep, reciting the unit circle, imagining fluffy clouds- but with her headache blessedly not in attendance, sleeping no longer held appeal.

The inevitable struck her- she had to go make up with Ron.

Not that she had to, precisely, but it just wouldn't do to have her brother pissed at her on the very first day of school.

She changed back into her robes and set off for his room.

-------------------------------

"Come on, Ron," Harry said quietly. "Would you have been as upset if you caught me making out with Cho?"

"Of course not- I'd be happy for you. You've liked her since forever."

"Why can't you be happy for Gin, then? She's like _me_ since forever!"

"Because for all I know, you're using her as a Cho substitute," Ron said sullenly.

"I'm not, and you know it," Harry said in disgust. "I don't want to get in a huge fight over this. Stop being such a baby. I am still going to be your friend, I'm not going to ignore you, and I'm not taking advantage of your sister. Now, you can either mope around and whine to Hermione, or you can suck it in and double with us at Hogsmeade's."

Ron stared off into space a bit, then said, "Only if you pay."

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"Ronald Weasley!" Ginny yelled, banging on the door.

"Go away, Gin."

"You let me in right now!"

An exasperated Ron opened the door. "Ginny," he said in his "I'm talking to a two-year-old" voice, "Harry and I are in the middle of a very important owl race. Hedwig is winning, so I do not have time for chit-chat."

She furrowed her brow. "You made up, then?"

"No, no, no," Ron assured her. "_Girls_ make up. Boys bully each other into mutual submission."

"That sounds dirty."

"You're distracting me from imperative maneuvers, Gin," he said loftily. He moved to shut the door, but paused. "And let Dean down easy, okay? I'm afraid double dates take precedence."

Ginny started to say, "What the-" but the door was already closed.

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Next part is the last- it'll be fairly epilogual, much shorter than the others. It'll be out very soon... ::Grin:: Riight.


	5. Epilogual Emotions

Entropy Part 5: Epilogual Emotions  
Rhi Marzano  
PG13

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The Harry Potter that Ginny fell in love with was a paragon of paladins. He was from the high harvest of heroes. He was the ideal idol. She'd been little Ginny in gingham when she'd fallen head over heels for this boy.

And now she had him.

Except the Harry Potter she had wasn't the person she'd fallen in love with. He was just a normal teenage boy.

But that was okay, right? Because Ginny wasn't the same person she'd been when she'd fallen in love, either.

She spent every waking moment with him. And of course, this meant seeing a lot of Ron and Hermione. And that led to improved grades.

She liked being with Harry. He was funny, and sweet, and his ass looked great on a broomstick

Everything was going perfect...

Except one tiny thing.

Harry was not a good kisser.

He meant well, but he really wasn't passion inspiring. If she worked at it, she could get the fire burning. But kisses weren't supposed to be work- they were supposed to be instinct.

Which was why, even though she had a perfectly wonderful relationship with her boyfriend, she was eating lunch with Draco Malfoy at the pub.

He took a bite of his deep fried newt on whole wheat and sipped his soda water. "So what you're saying is that you want me to kiss you."

The snow fell carelessly outside the window. "Yep," she confirmed.

"This is unexpected, to say the least," he said. "But I can hardly refuse. My enemy's girlfriend? Too rich." He leaned across the table.

"Not here, you ass," she snapped.

Sulking, he finished his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a servillete. "Where, then?"

Vaguely she waved her arms. "Elsewhere."

"You're very descriptive," Draco said sarcastically. "That narrows it down to hm... the rest of the known universe?"

"The railroad station by the lake, alright?" she bit out.

He glanced up at the clock. "Probably a good idea. The Express should be by in fifteen minutes." He chucked a couple galleons in the center of the table as he rose.

"It's going to take you that long?" she said in surprise.

"If you want it to," he said with a wicked grin.

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_I am really such a dunderhead,_ she thought to herself as she tried to keep up with Malfoy's large strides. _Whatever this obsession with kisses I've got, it's unhealthy. I should just tell him as soon as we get to the station that I don't want to go through with it._

But on the other hand, if I don't kiss him now, I'll never really know if that first kiss was just mind-boggling because it **was** my first kiss, or if he's really just a supremely talented kisser. And then I'll blow it all out of proportion and hurt Harry.

So, really. It's the only reasonable thing to do.

She realized first that Draco had stopped and belatedly that they were at the proposed destination.

"Pucker up, princess," he drawled.

Swiftly his mouth came down on hers and pried it open. His tongue's deft movements left her knees buckling. She threw her arms around him for balance- or at least that's what she told herself. She felt completely dominated and thoroughly winded when he had finished.

Her heart sank. It hadn't simply been the magic of the first kiss. Draco Malfoy could arouse a piece of French toast.

And now she felt miserable- miserable because _she_ would blindly follow anyone who could stir her blood like that, miserable because she'd willfully cheated on the boy she'd loved for years.

_Draco must be terribly misunderstood,_ she thought. _All that passion in him, but everyone hates him. I almost feel sorry for him. I wonder why I ever disliked him._

And then, in her shining afterglow, as her emotions and thoughts became more disposed to a kinder version of Malfoy...

He pinched her bum.

She shoved him away and smacked him lightly. _I remember now. Because he's an **asshole.**_

With Draco smirking at her, she turned on her heel and headed to board the train.

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"Ginny!"

Fred and George were barreling toward her. She rested her hands on her hips and gave them a questioning look.

"Errol just came by-" said Fred.

"From Mum-" inserted George.

"-And the baby's coming-"

"-Even though it's only December-"

"-And Dumbledore's already given us permission to go home, being as it's so close to the holidays and whatnot," Fred finished up.

"We picked up your homework," George said helpfully. "And Harry and Hermione get to come, too."

"But not Angelina," Fred said with sorrow.

"They'll be by in a bit."

The twins all but dragged her back on the train. "Back of the compartment! Back of the compartment!" gleefully claimed Fred.

"You got the back of the compartment last time," George complained.

"I want the back," Ginny said firmly."

"_Ooooh,_" Fred said knowingly. "I see."

"Makeout session," George grinned. "They've certainly enough to celebrate."

Ron and Hermione flounced hand-in-hand in. "Back of the compartment?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Taken," George said glumly. "Reserved for Harry and Ginny."

Harry walked in behind them. "We have the back?"

Ginny put on her most seductive smile. "Come on back, Harry."

"She's up to something," Harry commented to Ron.

"She's up to something," Ron agreed. He swatted his friend in her direction.

Harry made his way to Ginny and sat. "Hey," he said. "Where were you earlier?"

"The Three Broomsticks, for lunch," she said. She deliberately left out with whom she'd shared it with.

"Oh," he said easily.

She kissed him softly, and he smiled back at her.

_It shouldn't be about the kiss at all,_ she thought contentedly as she leaned her head against his shoulder. _It's about the smile._

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Charlie and Beatrix were laying on the ground next to a picnic table where Percy was giving disapproving looks at Bill's ponytail and a lecture on the insanitariness of piercings.

"Good, you're home," Charlie said n relief. "Mum wanted us all to meet the baby together."

The Weasley children and respective honorary Weasleys marched into the house. Arthur promptly announced that "it" indeed was a girl, and great cheering commenced.

"Have you a name picked out?" Beatrix inquired.

"Not really," Arthur admitted. "We had a backup boy name from Ginny's time, but not really any girl's names, no-"

"Edeth!" burst out the newly remade Mama Weasley in a truly epiphanous experience.

"That's pretty," Hermione offered.

"We can call her 'Deth' for short," George cackled.

Charlie gave him a weird look, because it _was_ a weird cackle, and thumped him on the head.

"Just like old times," George said wistfully.

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Night fell and Ginny propped herself up on the picnic table. "I need to tell you something," she said.

"Yeah?"

_Courage, Ginny, courage!_ She swallowed. "I kissed Draco Malfoy today."

He just stared at her, dumfounded. "Why?"

"It doesn't really matter," she said, looking away. "It was dumb and I regret it."

His face was contorted in hurt, just like she thought it would be.

She swept on. "I guess it's just another of those identity crisis things. I thought, subconsciously, maybe me being with you was just me slipping back into 'doormat Ginny.' And I really didn't want to go back to being 'that girl Weasley' or 'Ron's little sister.' Not like they'll even be able to say that anymore, what with Edeth."

"Excuses," he said darkly.

"I was being superficial, okay?" she said finally. "I'm sorry that I did it." She dropped her voice. "I really like you. You _know_ that."

"I really like you, too," he said softly.

"Can you forgive me?"

"I suppose so," he said. "I mean, you didn't lie about it or anything. Just promise you won't ever do anything like that again."

"I promise."

He smiled again, and bent down for a brief and noisy smooch. "Inside," he said. "They'll wonder where we are."

"Let them wonder," she said breathlessly, and pulled him down on her.

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Waaa! Sorry, D/G shippers, this was an H/G story from the start. But don't worry! My next story is going to be complete D/G smut. ::grins evilly:: Heh heh heh. It's been a strange and definitely long journey, but Entropy is finally completed. Thank yous to SkySorceress and the great Apopilis McKenzie.


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